The Pan of London
by Puppkid
Summary: What if Peter is actually no more than a young boy growing up in a local orphanage of London with one of the wildest imaginations out there? See original characters from Peter Pan in a different light! Complete, for now. Looking for further ideas.


The Pan of London

**The Pan of London**

"I'll get you for this, _Peter Pan_...!"

Peter laughed joyously, swooping through the air past where the dread pirate captain crouched on the ground. "I don't think you can, Hook!" he taunted. "After all, aren't you...missing something?" He grinned and waved a hand at the captain...a hand that he soon tossed right into the waiting jaws of a large crocodile.

The crocodile smacked its jaws together and began heaving itself up onto the deck of the ship, its hunger not yet satisfied.

"SMEE...! Help me, Smee!" Hook cried as he realized who the croc was headed towards. He scrambled backwards as a smaller, rounder pirate came running out of the cabin, a cloth and a small, ornate clock in his hands.

"I-I'll save you, Captain, I'll save you!" the pirate shouted, though tripped almost immediately over a coil of rope on the ground. The clock went flying out of his grasp and straight into the awaiting jaws of the crocodile, who paused just long enough to swallow before continuing towards the trembling captain.

"Not so tough _now_, are you, Hook?" Peter called triumphantly, hovering just out of the crocodile's reach, lest it choose to come for _him_ instead. "That'll teach you to mess-"

oooo

"PAN!"

Peter jumped to attention, head rising quickly from his palm to look at the headmaster seated in the chair across the desk. "Yes, Dr. Hook?" he asked dully, keeping himself from sighing. If only what happened in Neverland could happen _here_.  
"I swear, you boys are the most bothersome children I have ever had to deal with!" The headmaster shook a fist towards the ceiling. "All those years of school, for what? To be forced to deal with a bunch of scoundrels! Oh why me?" He ended with a frustrated cry, seeming to have forgotten about Peter for the moment.

Just when Peter thought he was off the hook - er, no pun intended - the headmaster turned his attention back to the boy. "I can't believe you keep doing this."

"Doing what, sir?" Peter asked innocently, fidgeting slightly in his seat.

"Don't play dumb with _me_, Pan! Jukes told me all about how you were daydreaming in class _again_!"

"I was not!"

Hook raised an eyebrow. "Then, praytell, what _were_ you doing with your head on your desk during your lesson this afternoon?"

"...Sleeping. That's _different_."

Hook scowled. "Watch your tongue, boy!" he growled, banging a hand on the table. As Peter straightened in his seat, the headmaster shook his head. ""Now, a fitting penalty... let's say kitchen duty, for, oh, how about a week?"

"A whole _week_?" Peter protested, looking almost surprised.

"Aye!" Hook ticked off on his fingers as he continued to speak. "One day for daydreaming, one day for 'sleeping', as you consider it to be a different matter...one day for talking back to me, and the rest of the days because I simply don't like you. Now get out of my office!"

Peter grit out a "Yes, sir" then stood and walked out of the office, clearly sulking...that is, until a commotion of voices came rushing at him. Instantly, he straightened again and adopted a much more cocky air as a handful of boys came running towards him.

oooo

"Peter, did he scold you?"

"Did you get him _really_ mad, like last time?"

"What's he making you do?"

Peter held up a hand to quiet the group. "He was red in the face before I was through with him!" he said triumphantly, grinning slyly. "I let him _think _he beat me by giving me kitchen duty..." He paused on purpose, then said dramatically, "for a week."

There were a few gasps from the boys. "A _week_?"

"A whole week?"

"Peter, you'll go mad! _No one_ can stand kitchen duty!"

"That's what you think!" Peter responded brightly before pointing his thumb at his chest. "_I've_ got Lily on my side, so it'll be no sweat!"

Most of the boys frowned, looking doubtful. "Lily? But she's the cook's _daughter_!"

"Everyone knows ol' Smee is practically in love with Hook!"

"Yeah, he'd _never_ let Lily hang around with _you_-"

"Even if she did want to."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Peter said smugly, crossing his arms. "She'll help me out - you'll see."

oooo

"Come on boys!" Peter called to his group of Lost Boys as he jumped over a large tree root, the boys mimicking his actions with whoops and shouts of their own. He soon flew ahead, not stopping until he heard a cry.

"Indians!" the boys all shouted in unison, having been surrounded by the very tribe they were trying to ambush.

As Peter flew quickly back towards them, he saw a girl about his age step forward to address the clustered group of boys. "You are surrounded," she pronounced carefully, eyeing each boy in turn. "You not get away this time."

"That's what you think, Tiger Lily!" Peter crowed, swooping down from a nearby tree and knocking the girl's headband off with a swat of his hand. His other hand gripped a small dagger, which he waved first at her, then at the rest of the Indian tribe.

"Peter Pan!" she exclaimed in surprise, while one of the Indians quickly trained a bow on him. As the arrow released, he flew up into the air, safely out of its path.

"You can't hit me!" he called cockily, then flew straight at the Indian, knocking his bow to the ground with his dagger before swooping back around to Tiger Lily. "Let them go now!" he demanded, sticking his dagger briefly in her face.

She stared at him, then slowly raised a hand. "Go now!" she said with a frown. The Indians backed away and out of sight until only she remained. "You win this time, Peter," she admitted, then walked away.

Once all the Indians were safely out of sight, the boys crowded around Peter, showering him with compliments about his victory. "Of course I won," he said with a grin. "After all, I'm-"

oooo

"Peter Pan, get back to work!"

Peter shook his head and glanced up to see Smee, the old cook, standing with his hands on his hips.

"Now see here, Dr. Hook won't be pleased to hear that you're slacking," he continued, shaking a finger at the boy. He then adjusted his spectacles and shook his head. "Come now, just finish what you're supposed to and then you can leave."

oooo

Peter grumbled about it, but he turned back to the sweeping job he was supposed to be doing. Or at least, he did until Smee turned his back; once that happened, his sweeps became fewer and fewer.

"You missed a spot," a voice said from off to the side.

He looked over to where it came from and scowled. "If you don't like it, Lily, you come do it yourself."

"Oh no, I couldn't!" She laughed quietly and jumped down from the crate she had been sitting on, to put her hands behind her back and walk towards him. "After all, the headmaster wouldn't be happy to hear that _I _did _your_ work."

"Come off it, you and I both know you wouldn't tell him anything," Peter pointed out, resting on the broom as he looked over at her. "Can't you help me out, just a little? The boys and I were supposed to play some kickball outside..." He trailed off, gaze pleading.  
Lily rocked back and forth for a moment, then grinned slyly. "Well...Only if I can play, too."

"Sure!" he responded quickly, anxious to do anything to get the job over with faster.

"And I want to kick first," she added before taking the broom from him.

"Of course," he promised with a nod, then ran to get the dustpan.

oooo

"Alright, guys, let's get this game going!"

Peter's call caused all the boys to look up and run over to him. "Peter, you're done already?" one of the boys asked, as if unable to believe it.

"Of course," he responded with a grin. "I can do _anything_."

"With help," Lily added in, causing Peter to glance back at her with a bit of a scowl. She ignored him and walked forward to stand with the group of boys. "Peter has oh-so-graciously allowed me the first kick, boys, so let's get started!" The conversation at hand forgotten for the game to come, the boys scrambled to find their starting spots. As they ran off, Lily looked at Peter, who was still standing there. "You can be on my team if you'd like," she offered.

He shrugged, then shook his head. "I'd rather be able to say I beat you when we're done," he responded with a bit of a grin, then headed into the field.

"As if you're going to win!" Lily called back.

"Of course I will!"

And it began to look like he actually would, as the game progressed. (Of course, it didn't help that every so often one of the boys would miss something on purpose, just to let him get ahead...) Things turned in Lily's favor, however, when a young voice caught Peter's attention and held it.

"Michael, John! You shouldn't stray so far ahead!" The speaker was a young girl, again around Peter's age, though obviously well brought-up. She was trailing after two younger boys and a large dog, who were running ahead up the sidewalk.

At the sight of them coming around the corner, one of the boys elbowed another in the side. "Here comes Peter's distraction!"

"She's not a distraction! ...Right, Peter?" one of the younger boys asked, though frowned as Peter didn't respond.

No, the boy's attention had been caught by the girl's call, even though it wasn't directed at him…

"Peter, watch out!" a boy called suddenly, just as the three on the sidewalk were close enough to witness what happened next.

Peter turned at the sudden shout, but wasn't fast enough to dodge the ball that came arching towards him. It hit him squarely in the chest and made him fall back a step. "Ow!" he cried, but held fast to the ball. Glancing towards the sidewalk, he caught the mildly amused look on Wendy's face before she continued walking with John and Michael. "...Who threw it?" he then demanded to know, facing the boys quickly.  
The boys grew quiet until one of them stepped forward. "I did, Peter," he said quietly, fidgeting in the sand.

Before Peter's fist could connect, however, a gravely voice spoke. "Pan! What do you think you're doing?"

Peter let the fist fall as he turned to face the groundskeeper, though the scowl remained on his face. "Nothing."

"It'd better well _be_ 'nothing'! As it is, aren't you supposed to be inside? I recall the headmaster giving you kitchen duty!"

A bit of Peter's normal smirk edged its way on to his face. "I don't see why. After all, I've already _finished_ my duties."

"You were only in that room for an hour, so I highly doubt that."

"Go see for yourself if you want, then," Peter responded, the smirk growing, and was echoed by the group of boys now that they were certain Peter wasn't still angry.

When it looked like Mullins was ready to continue the argument, Lily stepped forward. "It's true, Mr. Mullins. I watched him finish." She ignored the small glare Peter sent in her direction, likely for trying to fight his battle for him.

Mullins looked from Lily to Peter, the suspicious look still on his face as he said grudgingly, "Looks like you're off the hook _this_ time, Pan." Then he shuffled away, likely to find some other kid to get into trouble.

When he was gone, Peter turned to Lily with an annoyed look. "I _didn't_ need your help," he told her stiffly.

"Sure you didn't," Lily responded, clearly sounding like she didn't believe him – either that, or she was deliberately trying to provoke him.

If she was, it was working. He bristled. "I can do _anything_," he stated matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.

"'Anything'…" she repeated idly, looking around the yard. "…Prove it."

"How?" His tone was challenging.

"Go out the _gate_."

Peter followed her gaze to the old gate that separated the field from the rest of the world. The last boy who had tried to get near it had been caught and hauled straight to Hook's office.

But that last boy wasn't Peter. He smirked and nodded, ignoring the gasps from the rest of the boys. "Fine." He shot a quick look at the window that overlooked the field to make sure none of the staff was watching, then marched towards the gate.

As he laid a hand on the latch, one of the boys whispered, "Don't do it, Peter…You'll get caught!"

Peter flashed the boy a cocky grin, then pushed the gate open and stepped through. He took another few steps for good measure before turning around to look at the boys and Lily, all clustered inside the grounds. "There you have it," he said smugly.

"…This doesn't prove a thing," Lily retorted stubbornly.

"I don't see _you_ out here."

An indignant look crossed her face, and she stepped past the gate, moving to stand a couple of steps past Peter while crossing her own arms.

Peter looked surprised for an instant before glaring and walking past her, now over halfway across the path that separated the orphanage fence from the backs of houses lining the street. When Lily stalked past him, she shot him a smug look immediately before reaching a hand out and touching the fence of the house directly across the street. "What _now_, Pan?"

"I can do better," Peter huffed, looking from her to the fence, then back again.

"To do _that_, you'd need to go into this yard."

"Yeah, and I _will_." He pushed past her, grabbing a hold of the fence and looking over it, into the large garden situated in the backyard of the house.

When he didn't move again for another minute, Lily's voice sounded triumphantly from behind him. "I thought you were going _into_ the yard, Peter, not just _look_ at it."

Peter's grip clenched briefly on the fence, and then he was jumping over the short fence, accompanied by gasps from the rest of the group – including Lily. Clearly, she hadn't _actually_ expected him to do it. He smirked at her.

"Fine, Peter, you win," she admitted grudgingly, stepping away from the fence. "Now come on back."

"No."

She looked shocked. "'_No_'? This is someone's house! You can't just go in their yard!"

"Looks like I already _have_." Though he was responding, his voice sounded a little distant as he looked around the garden. He spotted a fountain off to the side, a stone path leading to it from the porch of the house. "…Mermaid Lagoon?" he asked aloud, though who he was asking wasn't clear. Ignoring the calls of the boys on the other side of the fence, he began walking towards the source of water…

oooo

…Splashes sounded from a short distance away. He could hear the happy conversations of the mermaids, though he was too far to make out actual words. With a grin, he flew down through the treetops, landing gracefully on a rock in the middle of the pond with a loud crow.

"Peter!" The voices calling his name were _definitely_ female, and they all seemed delighted to see him. With another splash, one of the girls swam up to him, tail-fins making ripples in the water behind her.

"Hey girls, you miss me?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course!"

"We _always _miss _you_!"

"Tell us of your adventures, Peter!" That was the girl leaning on the rock he stood on top of.

Jumping into the air, he floated down again, legs crossed into an Indian-style position. "Alright, I'll tell you about how I defeated the Indians and saved the Lost Boys!" he decided, launching into an animated tale that soon found him standing on the rock again, acting out moves used against his enemies.

"Oh Peter, how marvelous!"

"You're so brave!"

"Peter, I--"

oooo

"Boy, what are you doing?"

He was startled out of his reenactment in mid-scene, and found himself falling backwards into the fountain before he could stop. Wet bangs falling in front of his eyes, he glanced up and found himself looking straight into the eyes of the young girl from earlier. "Er, hi…Wendy."

oooooo

Started on Feburary 14, 2008

Finished on Feburary 27, 2008

Well, this is what I've got so far. Dunno if I'll end up continuing it, but I'm open to suggestions from readers! See, we had to figure out some way to end it to fit in a page limit, and this was the best way we could come up with... Anything you think would be neat to see in here (reasonably fitting, you see), I'll be happy to take into consideration.

Pupp


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